If you weren’t already sold at “Mini Paleo Maple Cupcakes,” I’ll elaborate. These mini frosted cakes are made with a fluffy Paleo apple cake base, beautified with a generous dollop of Paleo-friendly cinnamon maple frosting, and then finished with a fresh apple slice. Why mini’s? Because they’re A) so darn cute and B) make for simple indulgent treat proportioning.

Who are the people responsible for the inspiration of these cupcakes?!

Aside from being just about one of the nicest guys on the planet, George is also an incredibly talented Paleo recipe developer. His recipes are the foods you crave, written and tested so well that anyone cooking them at home will find success. I had the privilege of meeting George at PaleoFX this past spring in Austin, TX. I was nervous about my in-person debut with the rest of the Paleo blogging community. George spotted me, waved me over, and gave me the biggest hug. I can’t tell you how relieved and blessed I felt when I realized that all the other bloggers really do like and support each other! It’s such an incredible network of people.

I used George’s Apple Mug Muffin recipe, with no adjustments to ingredients, as the base for these cupcakes. I multiplied his recipe by four, which provides for exactly 24 mini cakes. George originally wrote his recipe for a single serving that you can make either in a microwave {it takes 6 minutes start-to-finish, folks}, an oven, or even egg-free. Isn’t he great? Check out his book {the Caveman Feast}, his brand spankin’ new & awesome to-boot iPhone app {Caveman Feast}, his website, Instagram, or Facebook for more Civilized Caveman goodness.

Next, the frosting. The base for this frosting recipe is thanks to the ingenious mind and talented hands of Jenni Hulet, The Urban Poser.

I’ve admired Jenni’s photography and clever use of grain and dairy-free baking for quite a while now. Her images, recipes, and musings are so thoughtful that I’m always left inspired and ready to step up my own game. Jenni just finished off a successful Kickstarter campaign for her very first cookbook. I can’t wait for this book, you guys. I missed the opportunity to contribute to her Kickstarter {where was I?!}, but I know, without a doubt, that this book marks the next milestone in what is sure to be a tremendous, filling, tasty career.

I adapted Jenni’s recipe for her Strawberry Whipped Frosting by nixing the strawberries, adding cinnamon, and using a maple extract. I was left with the tastiest {like, “oh my goodness where has this been my whole life” tastiest} Cinnamon Maple Frosting. There are no words to accurately describe the delicious fluffy genius of this frosting. The recipe below will make double what you need for the cupcakes. Do yourself a favor. Make the whole recipe, keep the other half in the fridge, and spoon it out as the best freaking fresh apple dip you’ve ever had in your whole darn life. You can thank me later. Find more of The Urban Poser greatness on her website, Instagram, or Facebook.

Ready for the recipe? Here we go!

Like all good things, it starts with butta.

Set your oven to 350 F. Now measure out 4 Tbl {or ¼ cup} of grass-fed/clarified butter or extra virgin coconut oil into a microwave-safe dish.

Oh, you’re going to have your hands full, so go ahead and recruit some help. Austin and Gus are taking care of removing all the pesky stickers from my apples. Back to the butta…

Melt the butter in the microwave {this should only take about 15 sec} and whisk until smooth.

Pour it into a slightly larger mixing bowl.

Add ½ cup of unsweetened applesauce.

Grab some incredible edibles.

Crack four of them {we’re talking about eggs, y’all} into the buttery apple sauce-y bowl.

Add 1 tsp of vanilla extract.

Add 4 tsp of maple syrup.

Got it all in there?

Whisk away!

Next, measure out ¾ cup of almond flour.

Add it to the wet mixture.

Throw in 2 tsp of cinnamon.

Add ½ tsp of baking powder.

And then finally add 1/8th of a teaspoon of kosher salt. I don’t own a 1/8th tsp {am I alone?} so I just half-filled my ¼ tsp.

Got it all in there again?

Whisk away!

Note: there’s a lot of whisking involved in this recipe …unless you’re one of those people with a stand mixer …and if you’re one of those people with a stand mixer, you probably also own a 1/8th tsp. You glamorous gadgeted kitchen diva. Can we be friends?

Set aside two dozen paper-lined mini cupcakes baking …dishes ? …what are they called again? Anyhew, I prefer the parchment paper liner variety.

Using your favorite spoon, Tbl, or ice cream scoop, start filling your mini cupcake papers. I purchased this puppy off Amazon. I was so frustrated that ALL my cookie scoopers kept breaking. As if she knew, Joy {of Joy the Baker} posted a link to the scooper she uses. It’s absolutely perfect. As is Joy. You can find the scooper here {size #40}.

Finish filling your little cakes and pop them in the oven for 18-19 minutes at 350 F. To know when they’re done, poke with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out clean, they’re done!

Remove from the oven and let them cool completely.

I dare you not to eat one.

When the cupcakes are cooled, it’s frosting time! The base for this frosting is an interesting ingredient. Ever heard of Palm Shortening? I hadn’t either. That is, until The Urban Poser enlightened me. It’s a Paleo-friendly shortening. As soon as I read her recipe, I bought a whole gallon. Mine comes from Tropical Traditions.

Measure out 1 cup of palm shortening.

Toss it in a large mixing bowl {or the bowl of your stand mixer, fancy pants}.

I used maple syrup to sweeten this frosting, but you can also use honey.

Measure out 2/3 of a cup of maple syrup into the bowl.

Grab some vanilla extract and some maple flavoring.

Add 1 tsp of the vanilla.

And 1 tsp of the maple.

Getchasome arrowroot.

Add 4 Tbl to the bowl.

Next, getchasome coconut flour.

Add 4 tsp to the bowl.

Grab some ground cinnamon.

Add 2 tsp to the bowl.

Got it all in there?

Whisk ‘till you feel like your arm is about to fall off! Just kidding. Whisk until it looks like this.

This is an important step. This recipe calls for 2 Tbl of chilled coconut milk cream. What the heck does that mean? First, calm down. Second, all it means is that you need to put a can of full-fat coconut milk in your refrigerator the night {or a few hours} before. Then, resist your impulse to shake the can, b/c it’s probably your second nature by now, and open it up. The thick layer of fatty coconut goodness at the top of the can is the coconut milk cream! Because it’s chilled, it’s extra thick. Measure out 2 Tbl.

Add it to the mixing bowl.

Now, wasn’t that easy? Aren’t you glad you didn’t freak out? {I totally freaked out, btw. I’m a nervous baker. This is why I post compulsive step-by-step pictures. So you don’t have to suffer like me.}

Now with your other arm, whisk until you feel like it might fall off too. Or until it looks like this fluffy goodness.

If you have a pastry bag {which you probably store next to your stand mixer} use it. If not, a gallon plastic bag works well. Fold the top of the bag over and spoon in the frosting.

Instant pastry bag! All you have to do is snip off the very tip of the bag with scissors. Be careful not to snip off too much or you’ll have a big unruly frosting spout.

Start frosting your {now totally cooled} cupcakes! It really is important that your cakes aren’t hot. The frosting will melt right off them, otherwise.

There’s no rules or science to frosting. Blot, splot, and twirl to your hearts desire. If you need to practice your frosting technique on your fingers, I understand.

Aren’t they cute? They’re tasty just like this …OR you can take it to the next level!

Slice up some petite fresh green apple pieces.

And poke them in the top of your frosting! This is also useful if you have any not-so-charming frosted cupcakes that you’d like to cover up.

Melt the butter then whisk in with the applesauce, eggs, vanilla, and maple syrup.

Add the almond flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt to the wet ingredients and mix until evenly combined.

Evenly distribute into the 24 mini cupcake liners {about 1 Tbl of batter each} and bake at 350 F for 18 – 19 minutes. The cakes are done when a toothpick can be poked in and come out without any batter on the stick.